With the premiere of Pure Design’s sophomore season on HGTV on Tuesday, September 29 at 9PM, Samantha Pynn returns to the small screen to deliver another shot of sustainable style.
What can we expect from round two of Pure Design?
“Our interiors are really awesome this year,” Samantha says. “The spaces are really tailor-made for the homeowners this season, ranging from the most traditional to ultramodern.” And that “liveability” is important, she says. “They’re the ones who have to live in the space, so they have to be happy!”
I weaseled an invite down to the Pure Design Production Office to take a peek inside Samantha’s world of beautiful before-and-after transformations, only to find that her office itself was subject to the makeover maven’s magic wand.
“Before,” says Sam, “this office was really cold and the colour was wrong.” She’s hard pressed to put a name to the hue that adorned the walls – “let’s call it ‘beige’” – and the outdated office fittings were anything but inspiring. “The 1980s ‘working girl’ desk gave me the chills, and we could never find anything – it was a state of complete disorganization.”
But armed with her inimitable style – and some fantastic finds from IKEA – Samantha brought order to chaos.
BEFORE… “Very dingy and damp-feeling”
AFTER! 
“I think you can tell this space is very ‘me’!” says Samantha.
A crisp coat of Benjamin Moore’s Dune White CC-70 set the stage for Samantha’s office refresher, and by laying down gorgeous copper-tone seagrass carpet from Carpet One Floor & Home, the room shed all vestiges of its cold, institutional vibe. A new boardroom table flanked by IKEA’s contemporary classic Tobias chairs makes for an inviting meeting space that Samantha’s reluctant to take full credit for. “Pure Design Senior Stylist Malcolm Patterson helped me design the space,” she says. “He balanced my feminine style with some midcentury modern pieces from IKEA.”
And in keeping with Samantha’s environmentally-conscious approach, the old office furnishings found new homes at other offices in the building instead of ending up on the scrapheap.
BEFORE…
AFTER!
The production office is home to Samantha and six of her staff, but everyone’s got ample workspace in the new layout, thanks to new desks (in actuality, four Melltorp dining tables pushed together to form one gigantic worktop), and rolling under-desk filing cabinets from IKEA. The table lamps are from IKEA as well, but Samantha customized them by mixing-and-matching the lamp base with a different shade. “It’s always good to put your own spin on a piece,” she says. “Make it your own!”
The walls are lined with Samantha’s inspiration boards, complete with tears from her favourite photos from Style At Home magazine. The boards themselves are upholstered in pretty lavender fabric from Robert Allen. “I love how the lavender works with the apple green and pink accents in the room,” she says. “I wanted it to feel like a floral arrangement come to life.”
To create privacy without sacrificing natural light, Samantha selected translucent window treatments from Hunter Douglas Canada. Below the windows, acrylic trays from IKEA ensure fabric swatches stay neat and tidy – and save time when Samantha’s hunting for a particular sample, as the clear acrylic means all swatches are visible without having to dig.
Unfinished magazine boxes and filing drawers from IKEA were painted a perky apple green – another case of Samantha putting her personal stamp on mass market merch.
Adjacent to the conference table is this sweet little lounge. I love the Karlstad sofa from IKEA in this Linneryd Natural-colour slipcover, which is paired with the Vejmon coffee table – repainted, of course, this time in Benjamin Moore’s Violet Mist CC-880. Eagle-eyed Samantha fans will recognize the pink tufted chair from her own home, featured in Style At Home back in June 2008. Pretty patterned pillows break up the solid, softly-hued upholstery and add a hint of romance.
And those gorgeous floral arrangements that are among Samantha’s trademark flourishes? “One of our producers has a beautiful cutting garden,” Samantha says. “We always have fresh flowers here at the office.”
You’ll see more of Samantha’s office in Season Two of Pure Design!
Premiering Tuesday, September 29 at 9PM, HGTV
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(Me, Style At Home editor-in-chief Jane Francisco, contributing decorating editor Kimberley Seldon and CityLine host Tracy Moore)
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